AS THE REPLAY of the Leitrim senior football final went to penalties, a girl tuning in to the coverage knew for certain that her brother would volunteer to kick.
Dearbhaile Beirne would have been in attendance in Ballinamore to support her older sibling Keith, and certainly wanted to be there. She was at the drawn game as Keith top-scored for Mohill with seven points to help keep their title defence alive. But just barely so. The champions needed an injury-time score from substitute Matthew Murphy to ensure a replay. Dearbaile, however, was forced to miss the second clash with Ballinamore Seán O’Heslins. She was on duty with Peamount United in their last outing of the Women’s National League that day and there was no way around the fixture clash.
But as soon as their 1-0 win over Treaty United was squared away, she was fully locked in to Mohill’s quest to become back-to-back champions for the first time.
Keith topped the scoring charts in the replay too with six points, four of which were from frees. And when the contest remained undecided after extra-time, he was the first penalty taker to step forward for Mohill.
Dearbhaile is the youngest of four Beirne siblings with Keith coming next in line followed by Michelle and Jonathan. Along with Jonathan, and their father, Michael, Dearbhaile and Keith won the 2017 edition of Ireland’s Fittest Family. But more on that later.
Keith and Dearbhaile regularly train together, share ideas, and offer advice. All the memories of the times they spent perfecting their precision in front of the posts, came back to her as her brother took his spotkick. And his successful effort was the first spark of a 4-2 shootout win firing Mohill to a historic back-to-back triumph.
“I knew he’d be one of the takers for sure,” Dearbhaile explains thinking back about the county final replay in October. It was a fifth senior championship for Keith who is on a year out from playing for Leitrim to attend to some niggling injuries after seven years of inter-county football.
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Keith Beirne in action in this year's county final. Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
“Every time we go to practice kicking together, he always practices his penalties before he practices taking points so I knew he’d have his hand up straight away. He’s quite confident in them and once he stuck it away, it gave the rest of the lads confidence.”
It’s match week in the Beirne household as Mohill prepare to launch their bid for Connacht glory. They’ve been lurking on the edges of the competition in recent years after scooping five county titles over the last decade.
In 2015, they fell to Corofin at the Connacht quarter-final stage. Castlebar Mitchells shut the door on them at the same stage in 2017. Last year, their till was short two points in the Connacht semi-final against a St Brigid’s side who would go on to contest the All-Ireland final. The Roscommon champions needed a second-half goal from Ciarán Sugrue to shake off their Leitrim opponents and also needed the services of star defender Brian Stack who didn’t start the game due to injury.
Beirne, who was watching on, laments the critical moments that cost her club a chance at causing a major upset.
“Coming from Leitrim, other teams don’t expect you to do very well. But we know the players we have and we know the players can do a job. That’s really important to have that confidence in yourself. Last year against Brigid’s, they were so close. One or two decisions and one or two of our plays cost us so if they can bring that confidence in on Sunday, they can definitely get a result.”
Dearbhaile continues to play for Mohill Ladies while also serving Peamount United who she signed for in 2018. She has also enjoyed stints with Shelbourne and UCD Waves while earning a senior international cap for Ireland in 2018 under then manager Colin Bell.
The challenge of maintaining the two codes often leaves her “torn in two” but it’s a worthwhile endeavor as she finds that both sports lend to one another. It’s also important to her that she can continue playing with friends from school and stay connected to her local GAA club.
Dearbhaile Beirne on the ball for Peamount United. Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
In 2015 and 2017, Beirne also made time to compete in Ireland’s Fittest Family. Their team failed to progress from the first round in 2015 but returned two years later to win the whole show under coach Donncha O’Callaghan.
“It was Mam who drove us on,” Dearbhaile recalls of how that journey began. “We knew we could do well in it so we got ourselves together. It was tough. It’s not the same as going out to play a match or doing a training session. There’s an awful lot of tactics involved in the races and you really have to be tuned in and be ready to go.
“The big thing you don’t realise when you’re watching the show at home [is that] you could be filming for a few hours and then you might get five minutes warning for a race about to start. You have to be ready to go all the time.”
Mohill face the same struggles as every other rural club. Players, both male and female, have been lost to Australia and other places around Ireland and abroad. But the club remains strong in both codes. The Ladies team reached the county intermediate semi-final this year while the men’s team continue to prosper under manager Eamonn O’Hara who was appointed as boss in 2021.
“He’s been really positive for the town,” says Beirne of the impact the Sligo great has brought to Mohill.
“Someone who has brought a lot of experience; obviously he’s a winner himself. He’s had a brilliant career and he’s passed a lot of knowledge on to the lads and he’s been really good in the club. There were a few times we were training and he brought us in for drills. That’s really nice to see, an outsider coming in to get really steeped in the club.”
The Beirnes are used to match weeks and Dearbhaile has experienced plenty of her own. This has been another week of familiar preparation as Roscommon champions Pádraig Pearses’ converge on Ballinamore later today. A place in the Connacht final is on offer for the winning side. There’s been plenty of chat between Dearbhaile and Keith this week as Mohill aim to finally break down the door and book their place in a provincial decider.
“We’d be bouncing ideas around all the time. It’s good to have someone in the family who plays to an elite level because you can always depend on them to come back with ideas, and give you motivation if you’re not feeling that confident.”
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'We'd be bouncing ideas. It's good to have someone in the family who plays to an elite level'
AS THE REPLAY of the Leitrim senior football final went to penalties, a girl tuning in to the coverage knew for certain that her brother would volunteer to kick.
Dearbhaile Beirne would have been in attendance in Ballinamore to support her older sibling Keith, and certainly wanted to be there. She was at the drawn game as Keith top-scored for Mohill with seven points to help keep their title defence alive. But just barely so. The champions needed an injury-time score from substitute Matthew Murphy to ensure a replay. Dearbaile, however, was forced to miss the second clash with Ballinamore Seán O’Heslins. She was on duty with Peamount United in their last outing of the Women’s National League that day and there was no way around the fixture clash.
But as soon as their 1-0 win over Treaty United was squared away, she was fully locked in to Mohill’s quest to become back-to-back champions for the first time.
Keith topped the scoring charts in the replay too with six points, four of which were from frees. And when the contest remained undecided after extra-time, he was the first penalty taker to step forward for Mohill.
Dearbhaile is the youngest of four Beirne siblings with Keith coming next in line followed by Michelle and Jonathan. Along with Jonathan, and their father, Michael, Dearbhaile and Keith won the 2017 edition of Ireland’s Fittest Family. But more on that later.
Keith and Dearbhaile regularly train together, share ideas, and offer advice. All the memories of the times they spent perfecting their precision in front of the posts, came back to her as her brother took his spotkick. And his successful effort was the first spark of a 4-2 shootout win firing Mohill to a historic back-to-back triumph.
“I knew he’d be one of the takers for sure,” Dearbhaile explains thinking back about the county final replay in October. It was a fifth senior championship for Keith who is on a year out from playing for Leitrim to attend to some niggling injuries after seven years of inter-county football.
“Every time we go to practice kicking together, he always practices his penalties before he practices taking points so I knew he’d have his hand up straight away. He’s quite confident in them and once he stuck it away, it gave the rest of the lads confidence.”
It’s match week in the Beirne household as Mohill prepare to launch their bid for Connacht glory. They’ve been lurking on the edges of the competition in recent years after scooping five county titles over the last decade.
In 2015, they fell to Corofin at the Connacht quarter-final stage. Castlebar Mitchells shut the door on them at the same stage in 2017. Last year, their till was short two points in the Connacht semi-final against a St Brigid’s side who would go on to contest the All-Ireland final. The Roscommon champions needed a second-half goal from Ciarán Sugrue to shake off their Leitrim opponents and also needed the services of star defender Brian Stack who didn’t start the game due to injury.
Beirne, who was watching on, laments the critical moments that cost her club a chance at causing a major upset.
“Coming from Leitrim, other teams don’t expect you to do very well. But we know the players we have and we know the players can do a job. That’s really important to have that confidence in yourself. Last year against Brigid’s, they were so close. One or two decisions and one or two of our plays cost us so if they can bring that confidence in on Sunday, they can definitely get a result.”
Dearbhaile continues to play for Mohill Ladies while also serving Peamount United who she signed for in 2018. She has also enjoyed stints with Shelbourne and UCD Waves while earning a senior international cap for Ireland in 2018 under then manager Colin Bell.
The challenge of maintaining the two codes often leaves her “torn in two” but it’s a worthwhile endeavor as she finds that both sports lend to one another. It’s also important to her that she can continue playing with friends from school and stay connected to her local GAA club.
In 2015 and 2017, Beirne also made time to compete in Ireland’s Fittest Family. Their team failed to progress from the first round in 2015 but returned two years later to win the whole show under coach Donncha O’Callaghan.
“It was Mam who drove us on,” Dearbhaile recalls of how that journey began. “We knew we could do well in it so we got ourselves together. It was tough. It’s not the same as going out to play a match or doing a training session. There’s an awful lot of tactics involved in the races and you really have to be tuned in and be ready to go.
“The big thing you don’t realise when you’re watching the show at home [is that] you could be filming for a few hours and then you might get five minutes warning for a race about to start. You have to be ready to go all the time.”
Mohill face the same struggles as every other rural club. Players, both male and female, have been lost to Australia and other places around Ireland and abroad. But the club remains strong in both codes. The Ladies team reached the county intermediate semi-final this year while the men’s team continue to prosper under manager Eamonn O’Hara who was appointed as boss in 2021.
“He’s been really positive for the town,” says Beirne of the impact the Sligo great has brought to Mohill.
“Someone who has brought a lot of experience; obviously he’s a winner himself. He’s had a brilliant career and he’s passed a lot of knowledge on to the lads and he’s been really good in the club. There were a few times we were training and he brought us in for drills. That’s really nice to see, an outsider coming in to get really steeped in the club.”
The Beirnes are used to match weeks and Dearbhaile has experienced plenty of her own. This has been another week of familiar preparation as Roscommon champions Pádraig Pearses’ converge on Ballinamore later today. A place in the Connacht final is on offer for the winning side. There’s been plenty of chat between Dearbhaile and Keith this week as Mohill aim to finally break down the door and book their place in a provincial decider.
“We’d be bouncing ideas around all the time. It’s good to have someone in the family who plays to an elite level because you can always depend on them to come back with ideas, and give you motivation if you’re not feeling that confident.”
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Dearbhaile Beirne Mohill GAA Peamount United Sibling Support Women's National League